mooremunchkins

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Setting up the docking station is very easy, just plug it and your good to go.

well yes you can do that but ideally you don’t want a big round hoover sat out in the middle of your room for everyone to see.

Ideally your robot should be hidden away and only come out when no one is around. This is similar to how the sci fi movies portray it. In reality were going to hide it under a sofa.

IF you have a sofa with enough clearance I would recommend to hide your docking station under that. A sofa is big enough that it gives the irobot roomba plenty of clearance for access. If not under a sofa.

Try placing it in a corner again preferably where no one can see it. Corners are good as they allow a solid backing for the docking station. And are often close to wall sockets.

The last option may require a bit of moving of furniture. If you have a large wall cabinet or piece of furniture you may be able to put the roomba underneath. the other option is to put it next to a big bit of furniture so that when your sat in the room, or when you enter the room the irobot roomba is hidden from site. This isn’t ideal but works well. with a bit of creative placement this technique can work well.

For all teh techniques above ensure you can reach and have access to the irobot roomba, this is important as you will have to remove it to clean it or to put it in another part of the house for hoovering. Also remember that the docking station should be against a wall to prevent the roomba from pushing it.

The cabling of the power pack should be tied with a tie wrap to ensure it doesn’t get caught by the roomba. A little trick for the power box is to put velcro on it and then attach the rest to the wall or skirting. this also helps keep the wiring out of teh way.

We own the Irobot roomba 560 pet version. I ordered the pert version because we have to cats that love to shed their fur on the main carpet. The main reason for getting the irobot in the first place. However with the amount of hair I knew would be picked up I went for the pet series.

With the pet series you get an extra large bin, this is twice the size of your regular bin. I didn’t think we would need it but unless you want to be emptying your irobot daily I would definitely recommend it. After 3 major hoovers of the house, our bin tends to be full.

The unit also comes with extra brushes and beaters, I find this extremely useful as it allows me to just switch out the brushes when they get extra hairy. Then once a week I have my cleaning time when I clean both sets of brushes and Irobot roomba.

Who should get this Unit. If you have Hairy pets I definitely recommend this unit over the others. I also recommend this unit if your home is high traffic and needs regular cleaning. I’m thinking it would come in very useful for families with big families. Or small families but with lots of friends. I also think this unit would be useful for carpets that deal with lots of debris.

I was also very happy to find that the Pet series model also comes with all the other features of the top end Irobot Roomba.

If your concerned how your pets will handle the Irobot, Both Vinnie and Bobby our to cats just stay out of its way and pretty much ignore it. But Irobot provide the following information for when you introduce your Irobot.

Each pet responds differently. Most are initially curious but will quickly learn to ignore it. Although some pets play with Roomba! Special safety features, including gentle-bump sensors, anti-tangle technology and automatic shut-off, keep your pet safe and ensure that noses and paws will not be harmed if a curious pet interacts with Roomba. We recommend that you run Roomba for the first few cleaning cycles while you are at home with your pet(s) so they can get used to it. After that, you can run Roomba whether you’re at home or on the go!

If your interested in Buying a Pet series model I have arranged a special deal with Irobot where you get free shipping.Daily Techno-Babble » Blackberry 8800 Mini-Review – Pic Two Having been a long time fan of the Blackberry 8700c from Cingular I found myself being drawn to the latest edition to the Blackberry lineup, the 8800. Several of the new features such expandable memory and the GPS navigation …GeekTieGuy » Localizing an XBAP application without using LocBaml – Using the LocBaml sample application that Microsoft provides with the Windows SDK for Windows Presentation Foundation can be very frustrating. By default it seems to pick up a lot of things that clutter the resulting CSV file. …Structural Patterns » Blog Archive » Piotr Prada’s Google Logos – I once did an artist residency in Poland where I got to know the artists Piotr Parda who now lives in Boston. Over the years we’ve kept in touch and I’ve become a bigger and bigger fan of his work for its humor, ingenuity and wit. Upon first arriving to the states, Piotr made his living as a children’s book illustrator and he recently used his gift of illustration to create new Google icons that reflect ongoing conflicts and disasters.Daily Techno-Babble » iRobot Roomba Discovery Robot Vacuum Mini-Review – Ok, blame it on woot.com for this one but after spotting a iRobot Roomba SE on Woot today I just had to tell everyone about just how much these little robot vacuums rock. It’s been six months with my Roomba Discovery and to tell the …

Posted in FEATURED, PRODUCT REVIEWS

Posted on 13 November 2009.

Hi all,

Just wanted to pass on the news that Irobot are having a sales event on the 17th of Nov. They are giving away 10% on all household products and free delivery.

This is a great offer especially if you were planning on getting presents for christmas.

WWW.IROBOTROOMBA-INFO.COM will continue to bring you Sales news on the IROBOT range.

This site is primarily based on the Irobot roomba robot, mainly due to it being the product I own and believe in. As part of this blog I was interested to see what other robotic vacuum cleaners were available on the market.

Having carried out much research on the irobot roomba I’ve yet to find any significant bad reviews about the product. That with the fact that it was recommended by someone I trust really sold the product to me.

What are your alternatives if your interested in buying a robotic vacuum cleaner?Dyson, is one of the major players in vacuum cleaners so I expected them to have an offering. In 2006 the launched a product called the DC06. However for some reason it is no longer on their range of products for sale. Looking at the module it seems awfully big and cumbersome compared to the irobot roomba.Electolux is the biggest electrical manufacturers in the world, producing a range of products from Freezers to vacuums. I expected with their size to have a competitor to the Irobot Roomba. It seems a similar story to Dyson, in 2001 they launched a product called the Trilobite Robotic Vacuum Cleaner. However after searching their site and the net it seems the product no longer exists. Interestedly the trilobite looked very similar to the Irobot roomba.After checking out the big boys I decided to look else where and cam across the infinuvo. Not the easiest of names to pronounce. The only major competition I could find. It looks almost the same as the irobot roomba, but doesn’t seem to have the same style of simplicity. Their cleanmate QQ-2 comes in a neon green colour, with what looks like a very complex control panel on the top. The main selling point of this unit compared to the Irobot roomba is that it has an ultraviolet light which kills bacteria. Having trained in Microbiology I won’t start to explain how bad things can get when we kill good bacteria in the home. Having read through the reviews on amazon, this robotic vacuum cleaner gets a good mix of positive reviews. Reviews from owners of both models suggest it isn’t as good as a Irobot roomba but it is okay. I think it isn’t as versatile as the Irobot Roomba but is a good unit on its own.

Overall I was disappointed that there wasn’t more choice on the market. It would seem for now that Irobot is the best in the market. With smaller companies chasing them. I think the larger companies lack the robotic backing that Irobot has and as such cant compete at this time.

If you have a robotic vacuum cleaner that is different to the irobot roomba please let me know what you think.

Posted in ARTICLES

Posted on 09 November 2009. Tags: IROBOT, irobot roomba, roomba

First I am not by a long shot an expert in robotic engineering so here is my layman’s version.

The video below gives you an idea of how well the Irobot Roomba covers the floor, the Picture at the top is the latest Roomba, the ne bottom right is an older model and the bottom left is a manual hoover. After seeing this video I know my preference.

There are 3 sections to the Irobot Roomba, the Drive system, the Hoover section and the Brains or sensor system. All three of these combined allow for the robot to go around your floor on its own and do the vacuuming.

As part of this post I will try to explain the above three components.

THE Drive system.

I was impressed with the drive system on the Irobot roomba, it comprises of a 3 wheel chassis. Two main wheels to drive and a third directional wheel at the front. All the three wheels are rubberised and generate good traction. The wheels are on a movable chassis, which allows for them to compensate for change in floor heights for various obstacles. This makes the unit very versatile for going over door jams and small height differences in the floor. The drive motors push the irobot roomba at a good speed similar to that of someone vacuuming.

With the unit being driven by 2 wheels it allows the unit to turn on the spot. This allows the unit to both get into and out of small spaces without to many issues. Due to the small light nature of the irobot roomba, the motors don’t have to be that big allowing for a relatively quiet operation.

The Hoover system.

A slightly different vacuum system to normal vacuums. The first element is a rubberised paddle that collects the heavy material on the surface. Stones, and surface dirt is scrapped up and into the collection bin. The second element is a deep brush that brushes deep into the fiber of your carpet collecting dust and hairs and ground in dirt. The third element is a rotating brush, this brush pushes any dirt at the edge of the wall or around/under chair legs and other furniture. This is an extra benefit as it does something most traditional cleaners don’t which is really clean the edges of the home. All of this debris is deposited into a collection bin at the back of the unit, either through a filter system to remove dust or in the pet models a straight bin. One final word on the vacuum system is the cleaning of the unit. Due to the size of the unit the vacuum holds about 3 vacuums before it needs emptying. I will do a later post on the simplicity of cleaning the vacuum compared to other upright units.

The “Brains” of the irobot roomba.

The design team could have gone with two methods of brains, one that efficiently remembers the room and then cleans it with one pass. This provides the issue that when you move the sofa to the ottoman it gets confused. The irobot team went with a more simple system. The irobot roomba finds the edges of the room and crosses at angles. It also does a circular clean if it detects dirt. This thought process is based on the various sensors it has.

This thing is loaded with sensors from, distance sensors it will slow down when it gets near the wall, allowing for fast speed over the open carpet. Bump sensors for the edge allowing the unit to get up close to the edge of the wall. Dirt sensors I imagine these are based on colour difference. Height sensors, in my house with many edges I do like this feature that it can detect the top of the stairs. Vacuum along it before turning and cleaning the rest of the room. It also has a homing beacon that allows it to detect the home base for charging but also Irobot Roomba barrier towers or room divides.

If you have comments or questions on how the Irobot roomba works please post below.

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted on 09 November 2009. Tags: irobot roomba, roomba

The irobot roomba, is a range of autonomous robotic vacuums, the first of the series was introduced back in 2002. This might sound like science fiction, but scientists and made a working robot that vacuums your floor.

See this video from Irobot on their Roomba.

The robot has dropped in price since those early days and is now priced inline with other traditional vacuums. In Jan 2008 2.5 million homes had a Irobot roomba, I’m sure by now that number has increased significantly.

This is a round robot about 1.5 feet wide and 4 inches high, it is designed to automatically go around your floor hoovering as it goes. The brains of the robot has improved over it generations with the latest version having the best cleaning methods yet.

The latest version of the irobot roomba is programmable to clean at specific times and days of the week. This means you can leave to go to work and come back to find the floor hoovered as if by magic. The Sci-fi writers didn’t get it far wrong.

There have been 3 generations of Irobot Roomba, the first was a very basic unit that needed the user to input the room dimensions to carry out the operation. The second and third generations really improved the functionality of the machine. With introduction of schedulers, heavy dirt detectors, and home bases where the unit can charge its batteries.

The key element of the Irobot roomba is its simplicity. They have managed to make one of the most technically advanced items in your home one of the simplest to use. Functionality is controlled by 3-5 buttons, with the most basic being “Clean “ a simple press starts the unit and a few minutes later your floor is cleaned.

The basic principles of the hoover is the same as most normal hoovers, however they have managed to compress it into a small unit. With a wide brush system and a sweeper arm that pulls all materials from under fridges or edges of walls. It is a well design hoover even without the robotic aspect.

So this all sounds amazing but can it clean the floor? As a Irobot roomba owner I was skeptical of the quality of hoovering this unit would do. However due to the algorithms that Rodney Brooks the designer used the unit isn’t the most efficient in how it moves around the room. This results in the unit often going over the same spot 3 times in a clean cycle. Effectively cleaning the floor 3 times more than you would normally do. This combined with a good brush/hoover system results in a great cleaning system.

I applaud the design team at Irobot Roomba, as the really do hold to the acronym KISS. “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Not only is the unit very easy to use, but they have kept the logic inside the unit simple. With these two elements combined it results in a very user friendly system and one hell of a vacuum cleaner.

Oh and for you Sci-Fi fans it beeps like R2 D2 ..

If you have questions or comments on the Irobot Roomba please post below.

Posted in FEATURED, VIDEOS

Posted on 09 November 2009.

Irobot was founded in 1990 by Rodney Brooks, Colin Angle and Helen Greiner. The company specialises in robots not just vacuums. They have contacts with the military and police for the robotic needs.

The three founders were originally based in MIT’s artificial intelligence unit. Where they left and built Irobot, Their two biggest success so far has been the pack bot a military application robot for destroying bombs and mines and the Irobot Roomba a household vacuuming robot.

irobot roomba founders

The Packbot is there flagship military robot with more than 2000 units in operation. They have an impressive list of Military robots both in action at the moment but also under development. This research helps to improve their domestic product line which is growing and improving each year.

For the household they have expanded their line of products from the original Irobot Roomba floor vacuum to a range of others listed below.

Irobot Scooba – their second best seller, the Scooba is a floor washing robot, designed for those rooms in the house that need washing rather than vacuuming. Released in 2006 these units are designed to use either no bleach solutions or white vinegar solutions to maintain a clean floor.

irobot roomba sister the Scooba

Irobot Dirt Dog – a harder working version of the roomba, predominantly designed for cleaning workshop floors. It is designed to pick up bigger pieces of debris such as nuts bolts. It is also specifically design more for harder floor surfaces.

Irobot Roomba brother the Dirt Dog

Irobot Verro is a pool cleaning robot. This self contained unit has an internal filtration system that filters the pool water down to 2 microns removing all waste form hair to bacteria. It also uses high powered water jets to clean the floor and side of the pool. The operation of the Verro helps to distribute chemicals better and reduces the need of the pump filtration system. It is said to be able to clean from floor to water line in 90 mins.

Irobot roomba pool alternative the Verro

Looj – is the latest of the robots released. It is a gutter cleaning robot. That allows the user to place their ladder against the gutter. Drop the Looj into place and let it clean all leaves and debris out of the gutter. It then returns to the user allowing them to safely climb back down the ladder. It provides a very safe answer to a scary problem.

Depending on your needs the Irobot Company has a built a a range of products lines. Within each product range there are numerous products each slightly different to satisfy your needs. An example is the Irobot Roomba which has 8 different models in its current range.

The robot has dropped in price since those early days and is now priced inline with other traditional vacuums. In Jan 2008 2.5 million homes had a Irobot roomba, I’m sure by now that number has increased significantly.

This is a round robot about 1.5 feet wide and 4 inches high, it is designed to automatically go around your floor hoovering as it goes. The brains of the robot has improved over it generations with the latest version having the best cleaning methods yet.

The latest version of the irobot roomba is programmable to clean at specific times and days of the week. This means you can leave to go to work and come back to find the floor hoovered as if by magic. The Sci-fi writers didn’t get it far wrong.

There have been 3 generations of Irobot Roomba, the first was a very basic unit that needed the user to input the room dimensions to carry out the operation. The second and third generations really improved the functionality of the machine. With introduction of schedulers, heavy dirt detectors, and home bases where the unit can charge its batteries.

The key element of the Irobot roomba is its simplicity. They have managed to make one of the most technically advanced items in your home one of the simplest to use. Functionality is controlled by 3-5 buttons, with the most basic being “Clean “ a simple press starts the unit and a few minutes later your floor is cleaned.

The basic principles of the hoover is the same as most normal hoovers, however they have managed to compress it into a small unit. With a wide brush system and a sweeper arm that pulls all materials from under fridges or edges of walls. It is a well design hoover even without the robotic aspect.

So this all sounds amazing but can it clean the floor? As a Irobot roomba owner I was skeptical of the quality of hoovering this unit would do. However due to the algorithms that Rodney Brooks the designer used the unit isn’t the most efficient in how it moves around the room. This results in the unit often going over the same spot 3 times in a clean cycle. Effectively cleaning the floor 3 times more than you would normally do. This combined with a good brush/hoover system results in a great cleaning system.

I applaud the design team at Irobot Roomba, as the really do hold to the acronym KISS. “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Not only is the unit very easy to use, but they have kept the logic inside the unit simple. With these two elements combined it results in a very user friendly system and one hell of a vacuum cleaner.